Salt Lake City crashes Outdoor Retailer bid party

''Thousands of Outdoor Retailer attendees spend an average of $1,019
each in the city, according to an assessment by Visit Salt Lake and the Kem C.
Gardner Policy Institute. Each year, the biannual show injects nearly $50
million into the city's economy.'' OMG! what will Utah do to
survive? Open six more medical school seats. Perhaps at the U of U. Each
medical school has $9 million per seat economic impact, and 61 full time jobs
per seat. See The Economic Impact of AAMC-Member Medical Schools and Teaching
Hospitals 2008 - AAMC members equaled over $512 billion.3 AAMC members
accounted for more than 3.3 million full-time jobs; this statement means that
one in every 43 wage earners in the U.S. labor force works either directly or
indirectly for an AAMC member institution. Additionally, AAMC member
institutions generated more than $22 billion in total state tax revenue
generated through income taxes and sales tax, corporate net income tax,

NebsyEphraim, UT

April 25, 2017 11:27 a.m.

Utahn's made their stance clear....."Bye Felicia"

For those who need an interpretation:

You are welcome to sell your
product here. You are NOT welcome to tell US how to interact with the
environment that we live in.

whatsup1Kekaha, HI

April 22, 2017 4:52 a.m.

Salt Lake wood like to keep the exhibitions and is willing to give many benefits
to attract the shoiw, but won't sponsor there own show in competition, if
SLC is indeed the best location many vendors would come. If you build it it
they will come.

ERBEagle Mountain, UT

April 21, 2017 8:07 p.m.

Tolerance at its best.

jasonlivyOrem, UT

April 21, 2017 12:46 p.m.

Misty Mountain-

"Um, Red, it isn't just "your" land.
It's "our" land."

This is a tired old argument. Yes,
it is true that 'public' lands means they belong to everyone. However,
this is our home! Those who live in the rural parts of Utah have made
significant sacrifices to be there. Because you are so well informed, you must
know that San Juan County is the poorest of all Utah counties. Tourist dollars
aren't making anyone rich. That's not why they are there. They are
raising their families on farms and ranches, and creating their legacies in the
land they love. The locals have as much right to the land as anyone and we
should have as strong a voice as any other group!

And your
insinuation that the locals are trashing the archeological sights is blatantly
false and unfounded. These false accusations is the vehicle behind much of
misinformation that's poisoning any meaningful discussions on how to best
manage our public lands. Many a tourist who visit this land come here
temporarily and then leave, leaving behind an ugly wake. I propose it's not
the locals who are trashing these sights, but the un-informed tourist. That is
the greatest tragedy of all for our public lands!

jasonlivyOrem, UT

April 21, 2017 12:08 p.m.

"jasonlivy - Sorry but, if everyone knows that SLC is the best place for the
OR show, then these brands are actually being selfless, not selfish. By your own
admission, they are working against their own best interest in the pursuit of
preserving public lands. Your "personal boycott", along with others,
only further solidifies this fact.

Also, when our position is
"let nature remain natural" and you resort to calling it a "radical
environmental stance", that is a great cue for you to self-reflect that your
position is, in fact, out of whack."

I'd like to formulate a
rebuttal, but I have no idea what you're trying to say here.

Let's be clear, every brand that attends the OR Show has to look out for
there own self interests. That's business. But when a certain brand uses
emotionally and politically charged environmental rhetoric to further their
business interests, I call that selfish and unethical. It slams of hypocrisy!

I know the outdoor industry well. I know how strong a player Utah is in
the industry, and it's the citizens of this state who are paying the large
share. I'm very confident in my current stance. Utah needs to be vigilant
and not capitulate, period!

Stalwart SentinelSan Jose, CA

April 21, 2017 11:52 a.m.

jasonlivy - Sorry but, if everyone knows that SLC is the best place for the OR
show, then these brands are actually being selfless, not selfish. By your own
admission, they are working against their own best interest in the pursuit of
preserving public lands. Your "personal boycott", along with others,
only further solidifies this fact.

Also, when our position is
"let nature remain natural" and you resort to calling it a "radical
environmental stance", that is a great cue for you to self-reflect that your
position is, in fact, out of whack.

Brave Sir RobinSan Diego, CA

April 21, 2017 11:13 a.m.

@zipadeedoodah

"Do you not realize that Utah will attract other
business groups to come that will be bigger and better?"

I
don't think you're getting this. If Utah could attract bigger and
better business groups, they wouldn't be begging OR to come back.

zipadeedoodahLehi, UT

April 21, 2017 10:57 a.m.

BTW, I don't know what the offer from SLC to OR was. If it was the same
as in prior years, I am all for it. It allows OR the opportunity to reconsider.
HOWEVER if SLC is giving bigger concessions, it will have the opposite affect.
OR will be more likely to feel justified in their position and will continue
with their bully approach and will be LESS likely to return. We need not grovel
at their feet. Doing so will drive them away rather then bring them back.

zipadeedoodahLehi, UT

April 21, 2017 10:24 a.m.

@Brave Sir Robin

Z: "We will not hurt. OR will be the ones who
lose out in this instance."B: "The fact that Utah submitted an
unsolicited bid to get the show back suggests otherwise."

No.
Not the case. Just shows that some in Utah (and perhaps you) FEAR that Utah
will lose out. Do you not realize that Utah will attract other business groups
to come that will be bigger and better? This has often proven the case in past
groups that have come to Utah and other venues elsewhere.

Moreover
their own customers will recognize that no state has the same that Utah has to
offer. Maybe in time there will be a faction in the OR group. Mark my words,
they will be back, perhaps not as OR but equivalent... and better!

andyjaggyAmerican Fork, UT

April 21, 2017 10:21 a.m.

Justmythoughts - Provo, UT

"It tells me that they are more about
politics than business"

That's because outdoor recreation is
intricately linked with the politics that govern our public lands. You really
can't separate the two.

jasonlivyOrem, UT

April 21, 2017 10:14 a.m.

Having gone to the Outdoor Retail Show twice a year for the past 20 years, I can
tell you the best place for it is in Salt Lake City. Everyone knows it including
the OR show committees and leadership. It's well documented that if there
was a better place for the show, it would have moved years ago. Much of the
blame must be credited to a selfish, politically motivated brand thats using
there radical environmental stance as a marketing ploy. It disgusts me and
I've personally boycotted it.

Being from San Juan County, the
misinformation surrounding the Bears Ears, our politicians, the locals
(including the native american population), and Utah's public lands is
staggering! When I see the industry I love being hornswoggled and manipulated by
a few loud mouthed company executives it saddens and angers me. I believe it has
less to do with Bears Ears and more to do with the prevailing conservative
mindset in our state, they being uber-liberal.

I hope Utah stays
true to who we are and never capitulates to their demands. In the end that is
what is best for our state and our public lands. I definitely won't be
marching...

Brave Sir RobinSan Diego, CA

April 21, 2017 9:57 a.m.

@zipadeedoodah

"We will not hurt. OR will be the ones who lose
out in this instance."

The fact that Utah submitted an
unsolicited bid to get the show back suggests otherwise.

zipadeedoodahLehi, UT

April 21, 2017 9:42 a.m.

Yes, the OR people come in and dictate how Utah is supposed to run their state.
If Utah caves in on this one, what will they whack at next? They won't
stop. They have a double standard. Let them go. The truth is that their own OR
people come in and pollute and desecrate these "playgrounds" as they
call them. If they were truly environmentalists, they would not advocate the
kinds of adventures and means of access they "sell". Seems like
hypocrisy to me.

As for SLC and Utah, we will have plenty of other
groups come to town... ones that maybe will respect our culture and our values
as well instead of trying to change them. We will not hurt. OR will be the
ones who lose out in this instance.

65TossPowerTrapSalmon, ID

April 21, 2017 9:03 a.m.

Straight to the recycling bin.

Misty MountainKent, WA

April 21, 2017 8:45 a.m.

@Red wrote, "We should redefine how we want to use this land. We are smart
enough to do that ourselves."

Um, Red, it isn't just
"your" land. It's "our" land. It belongs as much to a
single mom in Georgia as it does to you in Salt Lake.

I'm not
suggesting that you're not smart. I just wonder why you never noticed that
your fellow Utahns were looting thousands of graves and why it didn't move
you to do something about that. I live two states away and even I knew about
Phil Lyman's stunt in Recapture Canyon--why didn't you protest that
and urge that he be prosecuted for his actions?

ute alumniSLC, UT

April 21, 2017 4:39 a.m.

Utah should stay as Utah. If the alcohol laws bug you and you want the Feds to
control everything then maybe you ought to move. Those that think utah's
liquor laws are odd might want to travel outside of Utah and see how other
states deal with it. Having lived in the NE and South utah's law are pretty
liberal. .05 is the limit in most of Europe and Canada. I guess we ought to
boycott visiting there. If people are only visiting the state to drive drunk
it's better that they go elsewhere anyway.

RedSalt Lake City, UT

April 20, 2017 10:34 p.m.

Utah Rules! We are clearly the best place for the OR Show. They caved to
outside pressure and turncoats that aren't even from Utah and who
don't love it the way we do. You know I'm right Black Diamond.

I've been to Bears Ears. It's nice. Plenty of room for all
sorts of different uses.

Parts of it are for sure worth protecting
forever. Other parts can easily be used to enhance the resources of Utah.
Trying to turn this into a political football is silly.

For Obama to
come into our State and dictate anything to us is absurd. We should redefine
how we want to use this land. We are smart enough to do that ourselves.

For Black Diamond to stab us in the back on this rather than be part of
a solution is very strange. They should help protect Utah not sell us out to
Obama and the political agenda of hate.

Everyone get out and enjoy
the outdoors. Get off your phones and live free. Enjoy this great State of Utah
and keep the outsiders from trying to dictate terms to us.

I still
stand with Utah and Gov. Herbert.

windsorCity, Ut

April 20, 2017 7:31 p.m.

Much SLC leadership takes great pride in their Liberal leadership--you'd
think that would count for something with these people.

JustmythoughtsProvo, UT

April 20, 2017 6:33 p.m.

The Outdoor Retailers trying to hold Utah hostage because of a political view
makes no sense to me. It tells me that they are more about politics than
business... Certainly not everyone in their group shares the same view but the
leaders have drawn the line. Maybe we should ask everyone their political views
before we allow them to use our parks and natural resources and if we don't
agree, we should tell them to go somewhere else. Seems kinds stupid.

DN SubscriberCottonwood Heights, UT

April 20, 2017 3:42 p.m.

Good move as long as it is based on basic convention stuff- rooms, exhibit
spaces, etc.

There better not be a single political concession made
in response to the Outdoor Retailers bullying and blackmail demands.

Impartial7DRAPER, UT

April 20, 2017 3:27 p.m.

Utah's extraction and developer bought politicians are trying their hardest
to kill business in SL County. First they ran off the ODR, now, with their
poorly thought out .05 BAC law, they're trying to ruin the ski and tourism
as well. Maybe the Utah restaurant lobby and the ski lobby need to up their
"donations" to Utah political leaders.